Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Charity number 1189773
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 December 2023
Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 2 to 7 |
| Examiner's report | 8 |
| Receipts and payments account | 9 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 10 |
| Notes to the accounts | 11 to 12 |
Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
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Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2023
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates Shakyapada Jenny Roberts Chair Mark Jones Treasurer Kathryn Readman Resigned 1 February 2024 Mark James Leech Frances Irene Hooker Alexander Karen Carr-Malcolm Appointed 24 May 2023 Charity number 1189773 Registered in England and Wales Registered and principal address Bankers 17 Walmgate Triodos Bank plc York Deanery Road YO1 9TX Bristol BS1 5AS
Independent examiner
Sarah Coates MAAT West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) association formed on 3 June 2020 and is governed by a constitution.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are appointed by the members at the AGM.
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Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2023
Objectives and activities
The charity's objects
The object of the CIO is to support the advancement of the Buddhist religion, in particular by: Encouraging members and others to live ethical lives in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha. Supporting ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Community and other duly ordained Buddhists, at the discretion of the council of the CIO.
Maintaining close communication with and working under the guidance of the Triratna Buddhist order and in cooperation with other groups with the same objects.
Using applications of the Buddha's teaching to promote the health and well-being of all.
Encouraging members and others to live ethical lives in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha.
We are here to support people who wish to learn about and practise Buddhism. In order to achieve this we provide courses and classes which explore Buddhist practice. These include teaching basic meditation techniques to complete beginners, and more advanced classes and courses for those who want a deeper understanding of Buddhist practice and how this can be explored in contemporary society. We have a small Spiritual and Gift shop to provide access to meditation accessories, etc. and Buddhist literature not easily available elsewhere. All the work and teaching at our Centre, including the shop, is carried out by volunteers. No one is paid. We raise money from donations at the classes and events and from members of the Sangha (community). We aim to promote the Buddhist ethic of 'dana' or giving, so most of our activities are paid for by donation. People are free to attend even if they have no money. We have a commitment to making our activities and premises accessible to all by providing access for disabled people.
Supporting ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Community and other duly ordained Buddhists, at the discretion of the Council of the CIO;
At the moment we do not support anyone. However, this may be necessary in the future as we grow, The contribution made by members of the Triratna Buddhist Order remains essential to provide the experience, depth of practice and understanding of Buddhism needed in a spiritual community, and to make this available to others.
Maintaining close communication with and working under the guidance of the Triratna Buddhist Order and in co-operation with other groups with the same objects; Public benefit statement
We work in co-operation with other Triratna Centres, Retreat Centres and with the Preceptors College (which oversees the Ordination process). This allows us to maintain clarity with regard to our vision, to benefit from the experience of other groups with similar objectives, and so make the best use of the resources we have in York.
Using applications of the Buddha's teaching to promote the health and well-being of all.
Triratna Buddhist Community (York) is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our sangha, and eliminating discrimination. Everyone is welcome regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, income, sex and sexual orientation. People attending our classes or events classes do not have to be a Buddhist or feel the need to become a Buddhist.
Specifically, we do this by:
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a. Holding services of worship and devotion;
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b. Organising talks, courses, classes meditation sessions and retreats;
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c. Publishing materials (written and online);
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d. Raising funds and invite and receive contributions.
Our aim is to encourage members and others to live ethical lives in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha. So, the Triratna Buddhist Community (York) provides an understanding of Buddhism through a programme of classes and events, both for regular members of our group as well as for newcomers from the local community and others.
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Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2023
Objectives and activities (continued)
One of the main aspects of the Buddha's teaching is a grounding in Buddhist ethics. These ethical values are central to, and are threads that run through all the Buddha's teachings. Non-Buddhists are in no way expected or required to take on or follow these precepts. Instead, they are invited to test the ethical principles in their own lives to determine their effects on themselves and others around them, for the enhancement and benefit of society as a whole.
These ethical values are expressed in both a positive and negative form in what are called The Five Precepts:
Negative formulation:
I undertake to abstain from taking life. I undertake to abstain from taking the not-given. I undertake to abstain from sexual misconduct. I undertake to abstain from false speech. I undertake to abstain from taking intoxicants.
Positive formulation:
With deeds of loving kindness, I purify my body. With open-handed generosity, I purify my body. With stillness, simplicity, and contentment, I purify my body. With truthful communication, I purify my speech. With mindfulness clear and radiant, I purify my mind.
The charity's main activities
We are a community of friends who support the Buddhist religion in York mainly through our Centre and online. Our activities encourage members and others to live ethical lives in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha. We use applications of the Buddha's teaching to promote the health and well-being of all through classes and courses and other means.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities the Trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit and in particular the advancement of religion, encouraging members and others to live ethical lives in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha and, through those teachings, promoting the health and well-being of all.
Achievements and performance
At the start of this financial year we had only been in our new centre for six months so the last twelve months have been a period of consolidation for our charity with an emphasis on building on what we offer, building our sangha (community) and building our financial reserves.
Buddhism and meditation
We began the year with the usual mix of meditation classes: Guided meditation on Monday Wednesday and Thursday lunchtime, on Monday and Thursday teatime and on Saturday mornings. However with so few people able to lead meditation and poor attendance at some classes we decided in May to consolidate the meditation sessions to just Wednesday lunchtimes and Saturday Mornings. This turned out to be a good decision. By the end of the year the Wednesday lunchtime session was regularly attended by around 10 people each week and Saturdays by 10 to 15 people.
We ran seven day retreats through the year which were attended by between 8 to 20 people. The themes ranged from meditation through Dream Workshop to Buddhist teachings and study.
We ran Sangha (community) Night each Wednesday as usual with changing themes reflecting Buddhist practice, and - in the Spring and Autumn - weekend residential retreats at The Beamsley Project for two and three nights respectively. We also ran our usual Introduction to Buddhism Course regularly in January, March May and September. These introductory courses were well attended with a class of around 20 each time, from which some individuals chose to join our community and continue their practice with us.
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Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2023
Achievements and performance continued
Six Order members from other parts of Triratna visited us at various times in the year to lead day retreats or sangha nights.
In April we ran a Twenty-Four Hour Meditation Challenge to raise money towards a new retreat centre for women training for ordination. People could join us at any point during the 24 hours and stay for as long or short as they wished. This was a great success and raised well over £2000 in donations as well as attracting new people to the centre.
In May, breaking new ground, we ran a young peoples’ course over four Friday Evenings. This was attended by around 10 people under 30 and was a success. However currently we have very few young people in our centre so we did not have the resources to make the most of this enthusiastic beginning. It was felt that we should wait until we had a small community of under 30’s before running the course again.
In July our main retreat centre at Adhisthana, Herefordshire, hosted a ‘Summer Sanghas’ Retreat with sanghas from around ten centres participating. We were invited and ten of our sangha attended to study, along with around 80 others, the Bodhicaryavatara - an ancient Buddhist text.
Through the year we ran three study nights which up until the summer included around sixteen community members. In October we introduced a fourth study group and, with newcomers to the first year study the numbers rose to twenty-three.
We had an Open Day on 21st October with meditations every half hour through the day and a number of short talks. It proved to be a popular way of introducing newcomers to our centre and our activities and will be repeated each year.
In November we ran a new course teaching our main meditation practices. This was a great success with 22 people attending and will be repeated several times in 2024
At the beginning of October we introduced a Mindful Movement class on Thursday teatimes. This built slowly over the last few months of the year and is a continuing feature in 2024.
At the end of this year we had twenty-two mitras (those who have committed to Buddhist Practice) out of which eight are training for ordination.
Personnel and management
In February we appointed Amalasara as our Mitra Convenor to look after the growing number of Mitras (committed Buddhists) in our sangha.
One new trustee was appointed in May: Maitrikirana.
The Centre Team met every month through the year in person and the Trustees every 3 months alternating inperson and Zoom meetings.
Shakyapada, our Chair, attended two week-long events at Adhisthana (January and June) for European Chairs (ECA). Each week consisted of business discussions, practice sessions and talks and is designed to support Centre Chairs and others in their practice both spiritual and functional. It also provides excellent resources for centres by whom it is supported. Triratna Buddhist Community (York) aims to donate 5% of income (less gift aid) to the ECA funds - these are used to employ various specialist teachers and advisors who are available to centres.
Reviewing our work and income at YBC
In August our Spiritual Friend, Taravandana, joined us for a day and led the centre team in a visioning exercise which examined what we were doing at the centre, our objects, our vision and other options. This led to a second team meeting in September, without Taravandana, when the centre team created new plans and a new vision for the future. Briefly these include:
A two year ‘playlist’ of Dharma subjects was drawn up so that we could make sure that all the key teachings were covered at sangha night at least once every two years
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Triratna Buddhist Community (York) Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2023
Achievements and performance continued
Sangha Night - originally only for regular members only - was extended to include newcomers and the content was adjusted to cater for all levels of experience. This has increased numbers from around 10 people some weeks to a class as high as twenty-five people on one occasion.
Sangha Night was renamed Practice Night which was felt to be more inclusive and a more accurate description.
Since income was not rising as fast as needed we determined to be clearer about the centre’s need for financial support at each class and to develop fundraising and donation plans.
Shakyapada our chair also expressed a need to reduce the large contribution that she has been making every month and donate a more manageable amount. There followed a discussion on how this could be managed without creating an annual deficit.
Accordingly we instituted a fundraising plan with a year on year target from October 23rd to October 24th of £5,200. All money raised is intended to go towards building our reserves (see below).
Our other income is made up of monthly standing orders, donations(dana) at classes, courses, day retreats and residential retreats and other events plus registration fees for courses and retreats. Apart from small registration fees we do not charge for any of our events but encourage people to donate. This reflects the Buddhist virtue of generosity both from the centre’s perspective and from individuals who respond to our appeals for support. Gift Aid is also a valuable source of income.
We resolved to increase this by an appeal for more standing orders (see below) and a clearer request for donations at each class.
As usual no one was paid during the year - all classes were led by volunteers. A small amount of dana went to supporting two of the visiting Order members.
Fund Raising
In line with our visioning exercise our new fundraising plan began with a ‘Stoptober’ appeal in October, encouraging sangha members to give something up for the month and get sponsored for this by family and friends. This raised £327
In November we began to sell wooden ‘Buddha tiles’ which could be painted by sangha members (at home or at a Saturday afternoon workshop) and then returned to be mounted on our shrine room walls. This has raised £ 640 so far.
Following the visioning meetings in August and September our funding pattern will change in 2024 with Shakyapada beginning to withdraw from supporting the centre with big donations each month and the sangha being encouraged to fill the gap. So on 25[th] October we held a special evening ‘Nourishing the Lotus Pool’ introducing our budget for 2024 and discussing the need for additional monthly standing orders to cover the revenue which we would be losing. We had an excellent response to this from the sangha, raising an extra £422 per month to ensure that a break-even or small surplus was possible in 2024. The balance of Shakyapada’s reduced donations will come from additional class dana and new events and we are confident that the centre can create a small surplus next year.
Publicity
To publicise our classes, courses and retreats we regularly post details on Facebook and Instagram, referring those interested to our well-used and up-to-date website. We also send out a weekly newsletter to our growing mailing list and have illuminated posters on display in our windows and leaflets available at the door.
Summary
This has been an excellent year of consolidation, growth and development in all areas. In spite of our increased outgoings with energy and other costs we managed to create a surplus in 2023. Our centre team continues to develop the skills - both spiritual and managerial - which are needed and our trustees work in harmony overseeing the wider work of the charity.
In addition the number of people using our centre is increasing regularly with an estimated 2,500 visits during the year and an estimated sangha of around 40-50 regulars who attend regularly.
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Triratna Buddhlst C•mrnun•ty (Yorf¢) (Tf&¢*•)
Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the CIO for the year ended 31 December 2023, which are set out on pages 9 to 12.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').
I report in respect of my examination of the CIO's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 2 the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: …………………………………… Name: Sarah Coates MAAT
21/05/2024
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
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Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Receipts and payments account
for the year ended 31 December 2023
| Notes 2023 Total funds £ Receipts Grants and donations (2) 26,840 Shop sales 1,562 Other income 241 Gift aid 6,330 Courses 3,482 Retreats 6,821 Fundraising 1,224 Loan - Total receipts 46,500 Payments Marketing and publicity 524 Books, resources and stock 1,558 Accountancy and independent examination 554 Rent, rates and room hire 19,652 Retreat costs 3,242 Legal and professional 57 Training 711 Printing, postage and stationery - IT software and consumables 862 Furniture and equipment 15 Bank charges 603 Utilities 3,311 Insurance 1,243 Sundry 860 Donations to ECA 1,350 Telephone 370 New premises costs 691 Other donations 307 Loan repayment 1,400 Travel 46 Speaker fees 468 Total payments 37,824 Net receipts / (payments) 8,676 Fund balances brought forward 16,531 Fund balances carried forward (3) 25,207 |
2022 Total funds £ 22,250 788 117 3,395 1,571 7,666 144 20,000 55,931 152 470 533 19,848 2,975 7,689 100 393 525 660 572 1,587 1,017 390 1,250 526 28,288 - - - - 66,975 (11,044) 27,575 16,531 |
|---|---|
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Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 December 2023
1 Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis.
There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.
No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
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Triratna Buddhist Community (York)
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 December 2023
| 2 Grants and donations European Chairs Assembly Grant Dana - General Donations Dana - Newcomers Dana - Recurring Payment Dana - Meditations Dana - Standing Orders Dana - Study Dana- Mindful movement Dana- Practice night |
2023 Unrestricted funds £ - 449 1,862 976 1,965 18,492 125 200 2,771 26,840 |
2023 Restricted funds £ - - - - - - - - - - |
2023 Total funds £ - 449 1,862 976 1,965 18,492 125 200 2,771 26,840 |
2022 Total funds £ 2,980 3,297 650 1,872 486 12,906 59 - - 22,250 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
3 Trustee expenses
No trustee received any expenses during this year or the previous year.
Trustee remuneration and benefits
No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.
| 4 Funds held as agent Scarborough Buddhist group |
Balance b/f £ 10 10 |
Incoming £ 1,425 1,425 |
Outgoing £ 1,280 1,280 |
Balance c/f £ 155 155 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fund name
Additional information
Scarborough Buddhist group We are administering funds for the Scarborough Buddhist group until they can get a bank account set up.
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